Words by Tish Newton

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Dress Code Woes

When I was a teenager, my high school had a strict dress code. Ironically enough, one of the requirements was knee length skirts. Most of the time, we wore them with joggers outside in the winter. I just find it funny that they didn’t seem to offer the levels of protection Ms. Badu seems to think they do. Grown ass men still were on BS, especially with a shelter right next door.

I guess it’s easier to police fabric and thread than the heavy lifting of policing adults in being mindful of their words and actions around kids. Yes, fully developed teenage girls are still kids and that’s a good place to start. Awhile back I posted a meme about when is the first time you remember men looking at you sexually and it averaged between 9-11 years old. So I’m not understanding why the onus isn’t completely on grown ass men AND women. Yes, women because I know too many guys who had their first sexual experiences by way of rape. While most see it as getting lucky but there’s something very wrong with engaging in a sex act with a boy if you’re an adult. Horny doesn’t equal consent when children are involved. That’s another rant for another day.

The best way to protect girls isn’t in skirt and sleeve lengths. It’s making open and outward lusting towards girls unacceptable. Honestly, I can totally understand why Erykah’s Twitter rant happened. She spent the day at a high school full of kids who had no idea who she was as she sang a song older than all of them. That may have created the saltication of her ego some. Plus, she said R. Kelly was her brother and done more for Black people than anyone. When you can take your consciousness on and off like an afro wig….